Happy 4th of July!

So, I love the 4th of July! Not only do we live in the best country in the world, but we have some of the best traditions that we do on the 4th, as a nation and family.

My family meets on the 3rd and watches the Riverton parade. Love it! Done it since I was probably Lydia's age. Then we go to my parents, do fireworks, play games, etc. This year we watched a movie on the side of my parents house! Whatever! It's so fun. We all sleep outside too, kids, parents, everyone!

In the morning we have a great breakfast. Then we split and do stuff with the other side of the family. Us Homer's go to Jon's Grandpa's, because it happens to be his birthday. We have a yummy BBQ and hang out. We went back to Riverton for their carnival thing, which Lydia LOVED! Ben to, but her more. She would have went on any ride we put her on. She was fearless! Well, until it came to the fireworks. You would have thought we were torturing her! She was FREAKING out. We left instantly, and walked away with a blanket over her to help muffle the screams. It was pretty funny. At least we didn't have to fight traffic. :)

Mr. Ben was such a good boy the whole time, shocking I know. :) We are so blessed to have him. He really is a ray of sunshine in our home. Such a good kid. I'm so scared that the Lord sent us 2 way good kids as an early "thank you" for the kids that He has in store for us... I'd say we should stop here, but I LOVE big families. And so does Jon. He keeps asking me if we could shoot for a bakers dozen, and I just have to keep batting him away. :) Maybe in Heaven Honey.

As always, we had so much fun. This month has just been fun. We are staying crazy busy and loving it. I've got to soak it in while I can. I'm going back to school in August. I have 14 credit hours lined up for each semester. I'm getting a little scared about it, but I know I can do it... with a lot of chocolate. That reminds me of a shirt I saw.

"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man..." D&C 89:12

"Yea, chocolate and desserts have I ordained for the use of woman" M&M 24:7

I hope that's not bad to say... :) I bet the Lord thinks it's funny, especially since it's really close to the truth.

And may I take a line or two here to tell you, my friends and family, and even you who may be reading this blog and I have no idea! :), that I love and appreciate you. It sounds so broad and cliche to write on my blog, but I mean it sincerely. We feel so blessed to have such great people as part of our lives.

Utah State Graduate!

Thanks to everyone involved with Jon's success! And for those who came and supported him in Logan. This is his Grandma and Grandpa Homer. Clearly you can see that he gets his height from his Grandma. :)

Jon with his very beautiful mom.

Jon with his Dad Richard, and wife Lori.

Jon with his Hot Mama Wife! Right Hon? I was so proud of him! I always knew he was smart, but now we have tangible proof!

So, we didn't necessarily get the diploma at this point, so Jon thought it appropriate to at least display the program. You're such a goon babe. I love it!

Just left to the podium is Jon. SERIOUS! I'm that good of a picture taker. What you can't tell from this picture, is that Jon had a different gown than everyone else. His was cheap shiny fabric. Jon also forgot his dress shoes, so he was in sneakers. :) Oh, and his tassel. It said 2009 on it, everyone elses said 09. It's almost like he fudged his way in somehow... :) It makes for good memories.

This is Bob Bennett. Isn't he also known as "Deep throat" or something? Anyway, he gave the special speech thing, and I personally think he did a really great job. He is a very smart man. I haven't shadowed his political stuff really, but I got a good vibe. Good guy.

Before the graduates were in the building they had to do this parade walk around the school, in the rain. Because of Jon's shoes, I was able to pick him out! He was on the mega tron! It was way cool!

We stayed the night in Brigham City with Deb. We had a lot of fun! That is, until breakfast!! Even that was good until my last swig. So, they have free breakfast at the place, so that's what we ate. There was cereals and fruit and juice and sausage and waffles and .... special milk. All the milk was dated for the same day to expire. I had a milk with my cereal and it was fine. I wanted to finish off with a swig of milk from a new carton. I opened it and did not even blink an eye before I had my mouth full of CHUNKS!! And nasty rotten milk taste. I ran in the hall with 50 billion napkins and spit it out. I looked in the milk carton after... it wasn't pleasant. I'm getting sick just writing about it! Moral of the story, check your milk, or you'll be sorry.

Babe. I'm so proud of you. You have had so much to juggle since we have been married but you always made me feel like I was your biggest most important priority, as well as the kids. We love you so much and when we grow up, we want to be just like you. XOXO

Nothing brings out the Princess in you like Princess Shoes!

Jon bought Lydia a 4 pack of Princess shoes awhile ago. Lydia wore the Snow White ones EVERYWHERE! In fact, just the other day one of them snapped in half! Probably because they were over worn. :) So, the boys were getting a little jealous. So Lydia was more than happy to share!

Here is Hudson sporting the Cinderella slipper, and McKay has Bell heels. Tanner had on Sleeping Beauty, but he was too busy walking around I think. Just note which two are looking the happiest to be wearing these in this picture.... Cute kids.

Happy Easter!!!!..... Ours came in May!

Not really, but who cares. :) Lydia really got into the spirit of things this year!

Here are my way cute Homer Sista's!
Sara, Me, Lanette, Becca
We had an Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt Jill's. It was so fun!


Of course, my son would be the one taking the ride, making others do the work for him while he eats. :) He loves being on Dad's shoulders, and I think Dad loves having "his boy" up there too.

I wish I was wearing makeup! This picture is way cute except for my squinty-eyed face! Oh well... at least I'm "real" right?

Lydia, Vanney, and Kimbal had so much fun coloring eggs. I couldn't get her to stop! The dyes were all brown by the time they got through.

Lydia June

What happened to my baby!!?? This last month Lydia has matured so much. I'm not likin it truthfully! She's looking older, acting older... it's so crazy!

Lydia is such a light in our life. She keeps us on our toes, but is a sweetheart. She loves playing with friends, being in dresses (especially her Snow White dress) and adores Ben.

She can peddle her bike by herself, dress herself, go to the potty by herself, and has even started doing her hair! I help out with the hair still, but one of these days she will insist on doing that by herself too!

She REALLY wants to go to school. I took her to SLCC with me, to talk to an advisor, and we talked about going to school. She was so sad when we left because she wanted to go to school and ride a school bus. I think she will love school like her mom.

This is Lydia tackling her Grandma Nay. Grandma always plays so good with the kids. Lydia loves all her grandparents. I'm loving my "best girl". She is such an Angel.

Ben Update!

Here are the men in my life! I can't even express how I feel about them. Right now, I'm going to talk about my little-big man. Mr. Ben.

We just had his 1 year visit yesterday, and the doctor said we couldn't ask for a healthier kid. He weighs 29.1, his head is 19 inches or something, and his height is almost 34 inches, or 36... All I know is he is well off the charts. Watch out Shaq!

The doctor also said he was really mello and easy going. He sat so good for him the whole time. I already knew he was a good kid, but the mother in my loves hearing it, especially from a professional! :)

Ben is eating any and everything. He likes all food, and he's just about off bottles. He's a smart kid and he loves to scream. But, even more than screaming, he loves his sister. I'm not just sayin that! It's true. Lydia adores him as well. She is always kissing him and making sure he is taken care of.

We love our Ben. He is the best surprise we have ever had. He's not quite walking yet, but he is getting into everything... especially our hearts. (I meant to make that cheesy... it's probably the cheesiest thing I've ever said, yet, the truest. )

Clean Office = Blog time :)

For all two of you that look at my blog monthly, here's an update. :)

A Thoughtful Moment

Surprising, I know. But sometimes I actually do think and have thoughtful moments for myself. So, to remember that I do have an opinion of things other than what to dress my children in, I'll record these thoughts down. :)

As I was at a fabulous Primary Leadership training in Salt Lake tonight, my thoughts ventured into just how much I LOVE feeling enthused about the gospel, and being better- well, trying. I then thought of how life would be so much easier if all I had to focus on was bettering myself and building my own testimony, and that's when it hit me. You can not grow and become the person you want to be, without sharing the very thing that gives you your meaning and passion in life. I'm all about going to church, trying to do my calling, having FHE, but you throw in doing some missionary work and I get that nervous resistant nerve going all manner of wiggity in me! Do you know what I'm talking about? Why is this!!?? To me, it is Satan entering my heart or mind because he knows that I will benefit from sharing what I know to be true with others, and it very well will change the lives of people who may not know the truth of the Gospel. Something that I constantly have been thinking about lately is something said in our adult stake conference session. Paraphrased, "You cannot offend a person if you have a prompting to share the gospel with them, because the Holy Ghost would not give you that prompting if they couldn't take it...." Something like that. :) The speaker went on to say that it doesn't mean they will accept what you say, or join the church, but a friendship is not lost. Hurt or awkward feelings won't enter the friendship. Hopefully a seed has been planted, and when the timing is right, they will know.

Am I alone in my wiggity nerve feelings? Why is something I love so much so scary to share sometimes.... hmmm... I'll think more on that.

We're so blessed to have the truth. Truth is hard to come by. But with truth, comes hope. Times are scary now- or so they say, but for me it is just life. I don't go to bed with fear. I have faith that the Lord is still in charge and He always will be. People need to know this... I'm gonna do better to pass the message on.

Pictures a Plenty!

Hey friends. Here's just a few pictures that I wanted to share! I've done 2 posts. This one of pictures, and the next one is purely text. So if that totally bores you, just skip the second post!

They love each other so much!

Well, Lydia loves Ben, he just loves Baby Einstein

Wow, didn't realize how happy my boyfriend was in this picture... SO CUTE!

In case you are wondering, they aren't just wearing these things for fun! This is the real deal! Jon graduates in a month!! Oh yeah!

Some kids find comfort from a blanket. Others, teddy bears. Just about anything soft or warm does the trick usually. For my son, it's a plate... He sleeps with a plate because that's what he loves. I don't get it...

We went to the zoo recently. It was the best. Lydia was loving the animals, finally, and the temperature was perfect and there wasn't a lot of people there. We really had a fun day.

Ben was even enjoying himself!

Daddy and Ben in the gopher hole!

Mom and Lydia in the gopher hole!

What we were trying to capture here was Ben making baskets. It was like it was second nature to him! He picked up a ball, and just put it in the hoop. No one even showed him what to do. He'll probably be in the NBA when he turns 12...

Hello World! I'm Back!... for today anyway

I'm not even apologizing for being MIA for awhile. Real life just happens, but I am ready to give a little update on the Homer Happenings. So here we go!

Jon is one month away from graduating! I am so proud of him. He has been in countless hours and hard work into his classes. He works and does school and does his calling and puts up with me and the kids, PHEW! The poor man needs a break! And since he's not getting rid of me or his offspring any time soon, having school done will lighten the load. He is also currently making a movie, a spoof on Smallvile, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I'm starring as Chloe... a little more chubby of a version, but Chloe. And he is Clark. In our Smallvile we totally hook up, because really, if you know anything about Smallvile you've got to agree that they would be great together.

Lydia is my little princess right now. She wears dresses as often as I let her, specifically her sparkly green one. She is starting to have tender feelings, and be concerned if she sees me cry. Her feelings can also get hurt, and she'll run and hide if they've been struck. She adores Ben and is so cute with him. She talks and talks and is just a doll. She loves hanging out with cousins and friends, and being a goofball. She is my "best girl". We love her so much.

Ben is starting to walk along things. He hints towards crawling, but still doesn't. He is my ray of sunshine. His smile melts me, almost bringing me to tears some of the time. He loves learning and playing with new things. He loves when I sing to him, or when Lydia and Daddy play with him. He has started squealing a ton again, but it's so cute. He's almost one! I can't believe it!

Me, I'm just me. Breaking down in so many ways as usual. Besides the breaking down stuff, I'm really happy and content with life right now. Nothing brings me greater joy than being with my kids and having such an amazing man as my best friend. I don't deserve my blessings, but I'm trying to be worthy of them. I know I say it all the time, but life really is great. It's a ride and I'm loving it.